Anywhere You Can Find It

Anywhere You Can Find It
            Stand at the window and watch clouds float across the sky. Crack the window for fresh air, and listen to birdsongs that waft in. Step out the front door and water the flowers.
            Even a small, comforting dose of nature can make a huge positive difference in how we feel mentally and physically.
            I love nothing more than taking a five-mile hike on Mt. Tam in Marin County, but that means finding the time, coordinating with hiking partners, driving, and hoping to find a parking spot at a trailhead. It also means having the mobility, coordination and energy to do the hike itself.
            Time, energy, transportation, and the physical capacity to do even a moderate hike are luxuries for many. As I get older, I recognize an increasing array of reasons why people may not be able to easily get out to reap the benefits of spending time in nature.
            An eternal optimist, in my dad’s final years when he barely left his big chair in front of the TV, my heart was lifted by seeing that he still had a great view out of the picture window, where he could see grass, trees, birds, and even an occasional deer walking through the yard.
            There are countless reasons for a big outdoor adventure to be out of reach, but I always argue that stopping to notice the flower growing through the crack in the sidewalk counts. Watching a spider build a web outside your window counts. Sitting near an open door to look outside and feel the breeze blow across your cheek counts.
            On many days, I have barely a minute to spend outdoors. There is never a day, though, that I don’t step out on my front porch to look at the sky and water the flowers. At the moment, a vibrant display of petunias and lobelia are bursting with color on my porch. They clear my head and lift my heart every day.
            Find that little dose of nature anywhere you can find it, whether at a park close to home, a view from a window or door, or looking at nature photos or videos. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes from the archives is: Sutro Heights, a hidden treasure of a park that feels like my own backyard at the western edge of San Francisco, featuring views of Ocean Beach, Seal Rocks, and lovely flowers woven into the edge of the ruins of a historic mansion.
 
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This week’s hike from the archives:
Hike Notes 125: Sutro Heights